Wednesday, November 05, 2014

Post-Soviet Russia

Big money has dominated politics
for decades, but the most important recent trend is the growth of
third-party groups that typically fund ads on behalf of candidates,
often with incomplete disclosure on where the funding comes from. Such
SuperPACs and other similar groups have thrived thanks to recent Supreme
Court decisions allowing vast amounts of money from corporations and
wealthy donors to flow to campaigns. The Center for Responsive Politics
estimates that such groups spent close to $600 million this cycle.

Evidence is mounting that billionaire donors basically control the entire political system, with one recent study arguing that “America’s claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened.”